


She's Got You

by happytohelp1991



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:07:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23617999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happytohelp1991/pseuds/happytohelp1991
Summary: So, Frank is a hero, Karen is bad-ass, and I wrote fluff in the "Punisher"-verse.Fair warning.
Relationships: Frank Castle/Karen Page
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	She's Got You

The moment she sets foot in the alley, Karen knows that something is very, very wrong.  
Her contact isn’t here, for one. Also, she is pretty certain that the two guys leaning against the wall will not give her any information. They will probably make her tomorrow’s headline.  
It is ridiculous how calm she feels. Yeah, hanging around a blind superhero and a trigger-happy vigilante will do that.  
“What do you want?” She asks, clutching her purse.   
One of her would-be assassins chuckles.  
“We know exactly what’s in the purse, lady. Put.It.Down.”  
She complies. Resistance is futile, because they will kill her anyway. She half-heartedly wishes that she had learnt some moves from Cage. Or Matt. Or even Frank (I’m sorry Frank, I really hoped that we would meet again, I think I’m in.... )  
And then Karen Page, partner at Nelson, Murdoch, and Page, Reporter at The Bulletin, the goddamn hero of her own story, stands straight and closes her eyes.

In the end, it is quite anticlimactic.  
There are two muffled pop-pops, and Karen dares to open her eyes again, not quite knowing what else to do, to see minimal blood, and two very-very dead men.  
“What are you doing here, Page? Just as stubborn as ever, aren’t you?”  
It takes her a few seconds to realise that she is alive, and the two men are decidedly dead, and Frank Castle is standing right in front of him. She doesn’t know which of these realisations makes her knees buckle, but he is at her side instantly, with a rumbled “Hey, hey, Karen, it’s alright, you are fine, I am here now”, and her tears finally spill over.  
“I saw the entire thing, you know.” Frank continues, absently wiping a thumb across her cheek (She feels like she can stand on her own but doesn’t want to). “The way you were standing, spine straight, ready to die .... Fuck, Page, what the fuck were you thinking?”  
Karen gently moves Frank’s hand, and bends to pick up her purse. He says nothing, just stares at her.  
“Let’s go home.”

Karen does not know what to say. He is back. He is here, in her home again, with the faint smell of blood and coffee and gunpowder, that always clings to him. He looks surprisingly healthy and bruise-free. He has even gotten rid of that facial hair that she refuses to call a “beard”.  
They stare at each other, impassively. At least, as impassive one can be after having a near-death experience and meeting a friend she thought was gone forever, all in the same night.  
“I met someone. Beth, Beth Quinn. I thought I could have something. My life is all about a guitar and some clothes now, you know? But I fucked that up too. Got her shot, almost killed. She has a son, and I almost destroyed her life.”  
Karen’s heart hurts, and her throat constricts. Nothing, nothing has ever felt like this on her life. Not Todd, Not Matt.....  
She wipes her eyes and says,” I am sorry, Frank. I am so sorry.”  
“I don’t want your sympathy, Karen. I told you to go away. Stay away. Be safe.”  
“To be fair, you are the one who sought me out.”  
Frank nods resignedly, and sighs. Then he leans in a little, and asks a question, interrogation-style.   
“What scoop was so important that you took this risk, Karen? And how can I help?”  
Karen actually laughs at that. She laughs so hard that her eyes are teary, and some of her coffee spills over, and Frank is forced to ask what is so damn funny.  
“It wasn’t a story, idiot! I was looking for you! I heard someone knows about you, and they want to meet. “  
Her laughter is stopped abruptly when Frank takes away the coffee cup from her, and very gently, sets it aside.  
“Karen Page,” he rumbles, and she can barely concentrate because her hands are within his and he is swiping his thumb across her knuckles and her heart is running a marathon and.....  
“I know you. I know you. You are brave, and strong. You don’t care about what I have done. You care about me. More than I do. More than you care about yourself. You are extraordinary.”  
Karen says nothing, just holds her breath. The Punisher, Frank (or is it Pete now?) leans down with infinite care, and kisses her.  
And to his credit, when Karen sighs a little, and utters a muffled “always knew you are a hero”, he doesn’t even protest. Just draws her closer, and kisses her again, as if this is all he wants to do in his entire life (she won’t object to that).  
********************************************************************************  
Much, much later, Karen is almost asleep when her phone rings. Frank is beside her, his fingers in her hair, his face relaxed for the first time in God-knows-how-many-months.  
“ Karen Page, who’s this?”  
“ You can’t hide, bitch! I’ll find you. You messed up my life, Swear to God, when I....”  
Karen disconnects with a yawn, puts her phone away, and nestles deeper into Frank’s embrace. He is unmoving, his face blank, but his body tensed once more.  
“Frank. Frank!”  
“Yeah, Page?”  
“Can we have today, just us? Hunt them down tomorrow, please?”  
And Frank’s face breaks out in a full-blown smile, which almost steals her breath away.  
“Have I mentioned that I am in love with you?”

THE END


End file.
